Forum on Collaborative Innovation in the Intelligent Connected NEV Industry Chain held in Chongqing

By Liu Xinyu

(ECNS) – The Forum on Collaborative Innovation in the Intelligent Connected NEV Industry Chain was held in Chongqing on Friday.

As a parallel forum of the 2026 World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF), the event gathered experts to discuss breakthroughs in core technologies, collaborative innovation mechanisms, and AI-empowered industrial upgrades.

László Palkovics, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Managing Director of Automotive Proving Ground Zala Ltd., delivered a keynote speech.

 "Traffic density everywhere continues to rise, and the growth rate of car ownership far exceeds the carrying capacity of transport infrastructure. The answer to solving these problems is the realization of autonomous electric vehicles as much as possible," Palkovics said.

He noted that building an automotive innovation hub requires not only hardware facilities but also an inclusive and relaxed innovation mechanism to support trial and error.

Cui Hongyang, the China Regional Lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), analyzed that while the global penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to rise, market access standards vary significantly across countries, and the automotive supply chain is accelerating its restructuring toward regionalization and localization.

Cui suggested that Chinese automakers going global need to assess policy dynamics and plan ahead to seize the opportunities of global transport electrification.

"With the rapid development of semiconductor technology, computing power, algorithms, data, and software are driving the continuous progress of AI technology and the continuous evolution of automobiles," said Lin Fu, director of Software Development at Deepal Auto. 

During the forum, the World New Energy Vehicle Development Organization and the Chongqing Association for Science and Technology held a cooperation signing ceremony to deepen industrial cooperation.

Speaking on Wednesday at the 2026 WSTDF, Zhu Huarong, chairman of the World New Energy Vehicle Development Organization and Chairman of Changan Group, highlighted five major trends reshaping the global auto industry.

Zhu noted that vehicles are evolving from means of transport into embodied intelligence devices; vehicles are moving beyond physical flows to combine physical and digital flows; the auto industry is shifting from vertical integration to cross-sector convergence; automobiles are evolving from passive regulated assets into active participants in urban traffic governance; and China's auto industry is deeply integrated into and reshaping the global auto landscape.